As COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, it’s safe to say that employee training is likely not at the top of most employers’ list of priorities. The majority of companies are simply trying to stay afloat, and for some, that has meant cutting back on training to save money. But now, the U.S. economy has started to reopen and organizations are ready to make up for lost time as quickly as possible. What’s more, millions of employees who were let go or furloughed during the COVID-19 economic shutdown are eager to return to work.
Companies will receive a major payback by putting a greater emphasis on employee training and offering as many training opportunities as they can afford in spite of the pandemic. Employees will also greatly benefit from increased training offerings, especially when delivered via employee training software.
Three reasons to increase employee training opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic
Wondering why you should invest money and time into offering your workers training opportunities during a global pandemic? Here are a few reasons why:
1. Employee training up-skills workers and helps companies promote from within
In an effort to save money, 59% of CEOs implemented hiring freezes during the COVID-19 crisis, according to Fortune.1 It’s likely that some of those companies will maintain their hiring freezes as the pandemic continues to develop, although it’s impossible to predict the exact percentage.
Unless employers promote from within, they will end up with a skills gap and an overburdened workforce. By offering more employee training opportunities, companies can help workers gain the skills they need to step into vacant roles.
Related Reading: How eLearning Tools Enable Remote Training During the COVID19 Pandemic
If employees are still working remotely, that shouldn’t stop employers from offering training. A learning management system (LMS) enables organizations to create, distribute, track, and report on employee remote training while allowing learners to access it day or night from any device with a web browser and Internet access. By helping organizations promote from within, an LMS may even save companies money in the long run.
2. Employee training provides a healthy distraction from the pandemic
For the past several months, COVID-19 has been on most people’s minds every day due to round-the-clock news coverage and its involvement in everyday life. This is understandable and will continue until the virus is contained. In the meantime, employers can give workers something positive to focus on and provide a healthy distraction from the health crisis by offering more online employee training opportunities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that individuals take breaks from “watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media.” A contributor wrote, “Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.”
With this in mind, it’s reasonable to say that companies can promote emotional wellbeing in the workplace by offering consistent employee training. L&D creators can ramp up the employee engagement factor of training by making it more interactive via quizzes, videos, simulations, and games.
3. Employee training boosts staff retention
Losing an employee isn’t cheap. “Some studies (such as SHRM) predict that every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs 6 to 9 months’ salary on average,” explained PeopleKeep.2 It can also be costly to lose an hourly worker. To become more financially stable in the age of COVID-19, it is critical that organizations minimize staff turnover. One way they can do this is by offering more employee training.
When companies provide employees with training and learning opportunities, it motivates workers to stick around long-term. It assures them that they can grow their skillset and advance in their career with their current employer. It also proves to them that their employer cares about their professional growth.
“Training that seeks to improve employee investment and helps the employee identify with the organization will enhance the...employee's commitment to the company and, in turn, reduce an employee's turnover intent,” wrote a contributor to HR Exchange.3
“This ultimately results in an organization that is better able to retain its workforce.”
TOPYX online learning platform streamlines
training for companies and staff
A learning management system provides the tools companies need to streamline training content production, report on training, and manage compliance and certifications. It also simplifies the training process for workers, giving them 24/7 online access to their personalized learning path, as well as social learning tools and other LMS features that make connecting with their supervisors and coworkers easier than ever.
If your company isn’t offering more than enough training opportunities to staff, you can quickly turn that around. The TOPYX Quick Start Program can be deployed in a matter of days. Or to see the platform in action first, request a TOPYX LMS demo.
Sources:
[1] https://fortune.com/2020/06/29/59-of-ceos-implemented-hiring-freezes-during-the-pandemic-fortune-survey/
[2] https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/employee-retention-the-real-cost-of-losing-an-employee
[3] https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/learning/columns/engagement-matters-the-impact-of-training-on-emplo
